October 11, 2011 – The Missouri Senate convened late yesterday afternoon only briefly, to officially accept the message from the Missouri House, that the House had passed a very different version of the Senate’s economic development bill. The Senate then adjourned until next Monday, October 17, at 4:00 p.m. At that time, a motion could be made to send the bill to a conference committee to work out differences, the Senate could simply accept the new House version (not likely at all) or the Senate could adjourn without taking any further action on the bill. If the bill is not passed, the Missouri Science and Innovation Reinvestment Act (MOSIRA) that has already been presented to Governor Nixon, may not take effect. A clause was added to the MOSIRA legislation, saying it would not be effective unless the economic development bill is passed. Some question whether this clause will be followed or upheld by the courts.
Included in both versions of the bill is authorization for data center incentives that we have worked to pass over several years.
We will keep you posted of any developments and appreciate your support of Associated Industries of Missouri.